Fitting in Purrfectly
by Madcap Moonrise
Summary: The war is over and the world no longer needs the Gundams or their pilots. After being invited to live with the Doctors our GBoys undergo a laboratorial mishap and find themselves to be small, fluffy kittens stuck on an Earthbound cargo ship. O.C
1. Chp1 Letters and Leaving Home

_The Sweepers, 200 clicks off of_ _Colony X18999..._

Duo sighed and leaned heavily against his door. It had only been half a year since he rejoined the Sweepers and already his daily tasks were dauntingly boring. He closed his eyes for a moment, then entered the pin number to his room and swiped his I.D. card. It opened with the same beep it had opened with the day before, and the day before that one. "Can my life _get_ any more redundant?" he mumbled to himself as he flopped onto his cot and let out a deeply rooted sigh. He let his mind drift for a while, thinking about the war. It was over now, that's why he'd become a Sweeper again. The world didn't need Gundams anymore, which meant that it didn't need Duo Maxwell. He couldn't help but wonder if he was fated to monotonously collect garbage for the rest of his life.

"Hey, Stupid!" Hilde shouted from outside the bunkroom. "Open the door, will you?"

Sitting up out of his stupor Duo tried to get an angle on how long he'd just laid there. Obviously long enough to exasperate Hilde, which didn't him help at all because she was having one of her 'girl weeks.' Duo recalled last month when literally walking on an egg shell was enough to get her to throw a lunch tray at him. The bruise was there for a week. Oh well.

The braided youth got up and walked to his door, sliding it open and looking out. "I've been out here for fifteen minutes! I thought you'd died!" The ebony haired teenager let a flash of anger sweep across her face, then pushed past Duo and sat down on his bed, letting a large bag of something settle neatly on the floor. "You're really slaking off. When was the last time you checked your mailbox?"

"Why sure, Hilde, come on in! Its nice to see you too. Me? My day was great! Picked up a lot of junk out there in that big abyss of black, star speckled nothingness, but enough about me, how was your day? Oh? Didn't find any large chunks of roaming metal to latch onto and pull aboard the ship? Well that just downright stinks! I'm sure you'll find something of interest tomorrow." Duo gestured quite sarcastically with his hands before shutting the door.

A splash of soft color crossed Hilde's face. "Sorry... I was just irritated..."

Smiling, Duo sat down next to her and leaned back. "So..." he eyed the bag. "What's all that?"

"That..." Hilde leaned forward and heaved the package onto her lap, "is all your mail. There're a few messages waiting for you on the Bridge, too."

"Seriously?" There very thought of having to go through paperwork frightened him. An entire bag full of it nearly made him shit his pants.

Nodding, the young Sweeper placed the canvas bag on Duo's pillow and stood up. "Well, have fun with that. I've got to report to the Bay in five."

"That's it?" Duo acted astonished as she walked out. "First you barge in, then leave me with all this... this organic stuff you people so commonly refer to as paper and run out? Without even leaving ice cream?"

Giggling, Hilde opened the door and stepped out. "See ya 'round, Duo."

"Not even _ice cream_?!" he pleaded.

"Bye."

"May your days be filled with faulty equipment and long hours and," he paused, "and more mail than you can shake a flaming stick at!" But it was too late; the door had shut somewhere around 'faulty' and Hilde was probably already halfway down the corridor. Duo imagined her sprinting away with a look of malevolent pleasure on her face, cackling about her latest evil deed.

Duo looked to his pillow. Hilde's little gift was leaning to one side, casting a shadow over a small portion of the bed. It was sitting there, just sitting there, ominously waiting for him. A flaming stick didn't sound so bad.

He scooted closer to it and peered inside. It wasn't as full as he expected it to be, and most of it looked like junk mail, but that didn't change the fact that it was there and it had not come with ice cream. Sighing as he had done so many times that day already, Duo reached in and fished around. He pulled the first letter out and looked at it warily. There was something strange about it. No return address, no identifying watermarks, only the letters D.M. scrawled across the back of it.

_The Preventers Unit 2 Flag Ship, L1..._

The light from the eastern side docking bay on L1 filtered into the cockpit, disrupted every now and again by passing shuttles. It was quiet; Wufei liked quiet. Noin had tied up and gone shopping for supplies about half an hour ago, leaving the Chinese youth to his own mischief. He'd thought about seeing how much had changed, what with the recent burst of Colonial development, but persuaded himself to stay aboard and relax while he could instead.

Being a Preventer wasn't the most exiting job he'd ever taken, but it wasn't a walk in the park either. If there was an hour when he didn't have to scan video feeds or private com links for suspicious activity or report to a local authority about potentially dangerous debris, he was reading over maintenance files on the ship and trying to ignore Noin rant about Zechs Merquise's latest mishaps. Wufei took great pleasure in the rare moments when he was free of worries.

He stretched out in his chair and enjoyed the space. The sounds of the cool air drifting through the air vents were like a lullaby to him and the faint noises of the other crew members getting off and on the ship were as familiar to him as walking. Just as Wufei was about to drift into one of his memories about Shen-Long, the com board blinked to life with a little red warning light.

"Incoming wave link." The computerized voice was hollow. "Acceptance requested."

"Source?" Wufei questioned, professional and commanding.

"Unidentified."

"Identify," he ordered.

A few moments passed before the computer answered him. "Unidentified."

Suddenly curious, the Preventer agent straightened himself and scooted closer to the main control board. There were only one or two waves that had come in without a known origin before this one, but the computer had always been able to reroute and give them a feed I.D. Wufei weighed his options. "Prerecorded?"

"Negative."

"Video feed?"

"Affirmative." Hesitant, he turned on the LED screen. Wufei rested his elbows on the counter top and laced his fingers thoughtfully in front of his face. Who could possibly bypass the Preventers security system? He watched the screen brighten and the words 'incoming request' form on it. "Incoming wave link," the computer insisted. "Acceptance requested."

Wufei finally sat back in his chair and said aloud, "granted."

The screen became fuzzy for a moment, then added color and self adjusted so that the picture came in as clear as possible.

"Chang Wufei, it's been a long time."

Wufei jumped to his feet and stood as straight as possible. "Master O!? This is unexpected!"

_Atlanta Georgia, Earth..._

"I don't know what I'll do if that thing bites him," Quatre mumbled to himself, brow wrinkled as he watched Trowa guide a lion through an obstacle course. "There's not leash on it or anything! Trowa's not even wearing a helmet!"

Rashid chuckled and placed a comforting hand on Quatre's shoulder. "Young Master, he's in no danger. Besides, Mr. Barton does this sort of thing for a living! He'll be fine."

"Yeah," Quatre pushed his hair out of his face. "I guess..." Rashid could tell he was not comforted, though. Quatre had a knack for worrying, _especially_ if it involved Trowa Barton.

Quatre managed to suffer through the remaining portion of Trowa's tiger act without looking away and was eternally overjoyed when the quiet young man lived to perform as a clown who's life was _not_ in danger. After the show he met Trowa behind the Bloom trailer. Already changed into clothing more suitable for daily life, Trowa slipped into lightweight jacket.

"You were great!" The Winner boy exclaimed, concealing his fretfulness.

Smiling, Trowa fluffed Quatre's hair and left a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Catherine, I'm going out!" he called quietly into the trailer.

"Make sure you're back before dark," the reply was a little snippy but a wave of relief crossed Trowa's face anyway. She still didn't approve of him leaving, let alone leaving with another guy. She was overprotective of him and often put up fights when he tried to go out. Today he'd gotten off easy.

"Where do you want to go?" Quatre asked him as they walked away, Trowa's arm draped protectively over his shoulders.

Both confessing that food sounded like a thing of pleasure, the conversation now centered around whether to take Quatre's car or Trowa's motorcycle.

"I don't know... will two people even fit?"

"Yes."

"But how do you know I wont fall off?"

"I wont let you fall."

Quatre blushed. "Ok then, I guess we'll--"

"Master Quatre!" Auda called out and ran up from the parking lot. His sudden outburst had taken both of the ex-pilots by surprise, though Trowa didn't show it. The Maganac Corp member held out a cell phone, "a call for you!"

Quatre looked up at Trowa apologetically, but took the phone. "Thank you, Auda." Smiling, the Arab turned and left. Quatre mouthed an "I'm sorry" to his partner, who shrugged and smiled. Winner took a deep breath. "Hello? Duo! It's so good to hear from you! Um... no, not in quite sometime. I'm visiting Earth, you see, so I left matters too-- Oh. No, its ok. Thank you so much, I'll check it out right away. Thanks. Ok. Bye." Quatre hung up, a perplexed look shadowing his face.

Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"Duo recently received a letter from Professor G. It was um┘ about us, all of us, Wufei and Heero too."

"Something wrong?" Trowa questioned, shifting his gaze to search for unwanted ears.

"Well he didn't say, but he thinks I should be expecting a letter like his. Duo also sent a wave explaining everything, but when I didn't call to confirm it he got worried." Quatre paused. "I guess we'll have to stop at the hotel so I can check things out."

Trowa sighed. He'd been wanting to get out, no strings attached, no outside worries. That didn't seem to be a feasible thing to ask for at the moment though. "Why don't you use my laptop. It'll save time," he offered dejectedly.

"Really?" Quatre looked unsure if he wanted to deal with the issue, but he submitted nonetheless. "Ok."

Once inside Trowa's trailer, Quatre accessed his mailing account. Three feeds came through, one from Duo, one from home telling him he had mail and one from an unknown sender. Quatre opened Duo's first.  
His voice buzzed through the speakers. "Hey Quat, just checkin up on ya. How're things? ...I guess I'll just get to the point. Professor G sent me a letter sayin he wanted all us ex-pilots to gather at L1. Bermuda Resort, Suit two hundred and six, at eight AM on the twelfth. Apparently there's somthin really important he needs to propose to us. I don't think its a matter of life or death, but he did say it involved _our_ future. I mean like, _all_ of us. You, Trowa, Heero, Wufei... I was kinda weirded out, but I think you should go. Oh yeah and it'd be cool if you could tell Trowa, I lost his address a while ago. Wufei already knows, says O contacted him, but I haven't heard back from Heero. Gimme a ring when you get this so I'll know it got through. Bye, man."

It was quiet in the trailer for a long time when Duo's voice cut off. "Did you know about this?" Quatre asked Trowa almost in a whisper.

Trowa shook his head, but opened the anonymous message. It was H, saying basically the same thing Duo had sent, accept it was much more professional and said things like, 'the future belongs to a new generation' and, 'it will be good to see you, my boy.'

There was another pause. Trowa quickly gathered his wits and checked his own feeds, finding a similar message from Professor S.

The former Gundam Boys looked at each other, amazement in their eyes. The Doctors had vanished without warning after the Eve Wars, so not only was hearing from them in and of itself strange, but an invitation to meet them in person was as bizarre as things could get.

Quatre was the first to speak. "I guess this means we're going. Today's the ninth, so we'll have to leave immediately..."

"Absolutely not!" Catherine shouted from behind them. They jumped. In all the excitement the boys had forgotten she was in the trailer. Trowa and the blond turned to face her. She was fuming, arms crossed and red-faced. "I wont have you running off through space again! Not again!"

"Catherine--" Trowa began.

"And certainly not with _him_!" Trowa's sister motioned angrily toward Quatre, pointing an accusing finger as if it were his fault.

Barton's face hardened. He stood up to his full height and looked down on his sister. His stare was cold as he put her hand back at her side and walked passed her. While she stuttered and struggled to find her words, shouting erratically, Trowa pulled a small satchel out from under his bed. He stuffed a few clean sets of clothes inside and slung it over his shoulder.

"Put that down!" She shrieked and ran towards him, tears already staining her face.

"Catherine, please," Quatre stood up and reached out to calm her.

"Shut up, you good-for-nothing!"

Promptly closing his mouth, Quatre looked away. He balled his fists in an effort to find self-control in the horribly loud situation.

Trowa pushed past Catherine, took Quatre by the shoulders and led him outside. Walking side by side, Trowa encouraged him to head toward the SUV.

Catherine had resorted to pulling at the bag on Trowa's back and making a racket for the whole world to see. She was shouting at him, shouting at Quatre, screaming things no woman should ever scream. That is, until her physical strength left her and she stopped in a heap of huffing, crying female hormones.

The ex-pilots kept walking, slowly, deliberately.

There was a silence, an awful, menacing silence that made Quatre afraid to turn around. Then came Catherine's last resort. "If you leave now," she cried out hysterically, "you can_ never_ come back!"

Trowa froze in his footsteps. Quatre closed his eyes and held his breath. The same sort of deadly quiet that preceded the threat followed it, and he could tell it was grabbing hold of Trowa, trying to make him look back; go back. When Quatre felt a hand in his he opened his eyes, surprised. Trowa was looking at him, the crushing power of his hand threatening to break poor Quatre's. "Trowa?" Quatre hadn't expected the answer to look so clear in those deep green eyes, but it did and it made his heart skip a beat.

"Come on." Trowa said, low in his throat and almost too quietly to be heard. "We only have 3 days."


	2. Chp2 Colors of Truth

_Bermuda Resort, April 12th, L1..._

"Sir, what should we do about him?" A bagboy whispered to the on-duty receptionist. "He's been doing that for nearly an hour."

Sighing, the receptionist cupped his cheek the palm of his right hand. "At least he's not using the elevator anymore."

"I think he might be scarring the guests," complained the bagboy.

A few passing maids joined in. "Oh relax, Eddy. I think he's kinda cute," one said. Nodding in agreement, the others leaned against the Main Reception Desk and watched as a boy with a long, chestnut colored braid walked around and around inside one of the hotels revolving doors. They could hear him singing faintly from where they stood. He was down to thirty-three bottles already.

"Still, I think we should stop him..." the bagboy continued.

The head maid was about to protest, but she caught a glimpse of a mother redirecting her child to avoid the boy. Maybe Eddy was right. "Ok," she sighed, "But _you_ have to tell him."

Eddy puffed up with the arrogance of his win and began walking toward the revolving door. Unfortunately, the speech he'd prepared for the braided delinquent would go unused for, at that very moment, the boy took notice of something on the curb and shot out of the revolving door like rocket.

"Quatre!" Duo shouted happily as he took the Neo-Arab up in his arms and swung him around. "How've you been, man?"

Laughing in his angelic, oh-so-familiar voice, Quatre replied, "well enough."

"And how bout you, Trowa? Ya been good?" Nodding, Trowa let his face hint at the fact that he could quite possible smile at the sight of Duo.

The threesome took a second to breath deep and stand in each others space before allowing Duo to lead them up to Suite two hundred and six. An elevator ride, a hallway and a keypad later, Wufei nodded his greetings and came to sit with them in a circle of very cushy chairs.

"It's nearly eight," the Chinese youth stated before nervously leaning back in his seat. "Where's Yuy?"

Duo suddenly realized that all three of his companions were looking expectantly at him for an answer. Shrugging, he saw disappointment cross their faces. "What am I, his parole agent?" he muttered too softly to be heard.

"Ah, you're all here! Excellent!" The boys turned to see H closing the room door behind himself. They promptly took to their feet. "I hadn't expected such a wonderful turnout, but lets get to business, shall we?" He nodded at Quatre with a comforting smile as he took a seat within the circle of chairs. "Now, the other professors and I have gathered you all here to--"

"Are you blind or somthin?" Duo cut him off. "There're only _four_ of us. Heero's missing."

Instructor H chuckled. "Heero Yuy was been contacted privately a few months ago. May I continue?" Duo huffed once and sat back in his comfy chair, trying to avoid the glare Wufei was giving him for his disrespectfulness. "Thank you. You have all been gathered here in order to discuss your futures. It's a serious issue, so I won't sugar coat it for you." H cleared him throat. "The world no longer needs Gundams, which is why Doctor J was so adamant about having them destroyed. That said and done, the world doesn't need the Gundams' pilots either. A new age is dawning, with new ideals and better intentions that even our own. I'm offering you a chance to allow that new age, that future, to grow. But in order to do that you must vanish just like the Gundams."

"That's ludicrous." Wufei stated bluntly, not even allowing Instructor H to pause. "We've built lives. We have jobs!"

Quatre nodded. "Wufei is right. What you're asking... I can't just walk away from my duties."

"I swore to uphold the law as a Preventer!" Wufei let his voice rise in self-righteousness.

"Hold on a minute," Duo said over the growing commotion. It was quiet, except for the pulsing of the vein in Wufei's temple. "We have to think about this. During the war we were created solely to fight for the future of the Colonies. Doesn't it make sense now, when the war is over, that we shouldn't exist at all? We can't kid ourselves. People like us, soldiers like us, we don't belong."

"...Duo..." Quatre started seeing pain set into his friends face.

"As long as we're around to offer testament to the war, things won't move forward." Duo refused to look at his fellow pilots and nobody spoke, though H looked pleased. A few tense moments followed before Duo spoke again. "So... how do I pull off this vanishing act?"

H stood up, cracking his old, pudgy knuckles. "You leave with me, right now. There's a helicopter waiting on the roof of the next building and there are explosives set to detonate in the hotel, making it look as if the four of you were killed in a freak accident. You will be dead to the world."

"Right now?" Duo looked astonished. "I cant even say goodbye to Hilde?"

H shook his head. "You will never again make contact with the outside world."

"... ok."

"Duo you can't be serious!" Quatre stood up, obviously flustered. "You'd just leave? Just like that?!" Trowa placed a large, firm hand on Quatre's shoulder. He smiled faintly at the boy, then stepped over and stood next to Duo. "Trowa? W-what are you doing? This is ridiculous!"

His eyebrows drawn together in deep thought, Wufei slowly rose to his feet. "For the good of the Colonies..." he mumbled to himself before standing cross-armed on Duo's other side. The three of them looked on at Quatre anxiously.

"T-this is madness! I have a life, an estate to care for!" Quatre threw out his arms as he tried to grip the situation. "And, and what about the Maganac Corps? What will _they_ do?" As his rant continued, Trowa stepped forward and took his face in his hands.

"Quatre," he whispered, "its time to let somebody else make a difference."

Almost immediately the Winner boy stopped speaking. He stood there with Trowa in strained, quiet contemplation for a long time before bowing his head and succumbing.

"Good then," H nearly bellowed in happiness. "To the roof!"

It was a silent walk, as if the boys were heading to the guillotine. Quatre refused to look at anyone, even Trowa, though he held his hand with an iron grip. Duo managed a tight sigh and smile every now and then; an unspoken thank you to Wufie and Trowa for their support. Wufei walked with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets and his head help high, but Duo noticed that he hadn't taken his eyes off the floor. It seemed like hours before they were on the roof and H had signaled the helicopter to pick them up. The moment when they stepped foot inside was surreal. The moment that said they would die forever. Vanish.

As the chopper became airborne and the Bermuda Resort became smaller, an eruption of yellow and white and red took out a section the fourth floor. People were evacuating the hotel franticly, scurrying around as if they were dogs on their last legs. Debris and ash fell like demented snow to the concrete and it wasn't long before a news van shaped spec arrived to film the last of the dieing flames. When Quatre caught himself thinking that the explosion was the most beautiful thing he'd seen in months, he knew Duo had been right.

_This was a short chapter so I though I'd add this little segment.- I know I'm taking my sweet time getting to the 'laboratorial mishap', but hopefully you'll bare with me for a little longer. I hope you've enjoyed Fitting in Purrfectly so far, it's the first Fan Fiction I've actually committed to writing. I value comments and opinions of any sort and I'd appreciate any feedback I can get._


	3. Chp3 Little Black Spots

_April 14th, Colony X18999..._

Upon arrival at the underground facility that harbored the Doctors, Duo adamantly sought out Heero while the others were shown to their rooms. Quatre was still in a stupor, even after the two day shuttle ride. He couldn't believe what he'd done and the process just kept working though his head on a never-ending reel. He needed to go back in order to direct the Maganac Corps and resume his place as the Neo-Arabian Ambassador to Earth. He loved them, his job... his life. But he also loved Trowa, and if _he_ was leaving, Quatre would never see him again. If it was possible to break a man's heart two different ways, Quatre felt it now more than anything.

When H had shown him his room, said 'I'm proud of you,' and left, Quatre collapsed. He buried his head in his hands and held back the sobbing until he couldn't do it anymore. Every tear that fell seemed to have the same thing in it; the news feeds of the explosion at Bermuda. His name and picture drowned into countless others that had been hurt, killed or gone missing during the alleged 'gas line brake.'

Befuddled and very lost, Quatre couldn't even speak to Trowa, who seemed to have sensed the mood and left the blond to his thoughts. Adjusting to this life of death was going to take every cell in his mind and body and Quatre didn't know if he could do it. Duo, on the other hand, seemed to be the most at home of all the pilots.

After he'd tracked down Heero and scolded him for not replying to his messages, Duo proceeded to attempt to hug him, actions that were met with cold stares and gun barrels. Finally, Duo settled for an arm over the shoulder as he and Heero walked down on of the facility corridors. Almost immediately following that, he bounded off to locate the kitchen.

Heero had been living with Doctor J since a few months after the Eve Wars and was already well accustomed to his new life. The only thing that really bothered him was the fact that Duo was now _completely inescapable_. The thought of the braided boy hanging onto him and following him around made him shudder and, strangely enough, smile at the same time. Way deep down, past the perfect soldier and the inhuman reflexes, he'd missed the other Gundam pilots.

"Hey, wanna sandwich?" Duo asked though a mouthful of bread and ham as Wufei passed the kitchen door. The Chinese glared at him, steely eyed because of Duo's apparent lack of manners, but accepted anyway. Duo did make good sandwiches. "I wonder if we're allowed to order pizza," the brunette mused.

"I doubt it." Wufei said as he stared at the over-stuffed _thing_ sitting on his plate. It tasted great, but he couldn't tell which there was more of; lettuce, ham or mayonnaise? Or maybe it was the cheese. He gave up. "We're dead, remember?"

Duo exhaled, then picked up the straw he'd been using for his soda and stuck it precariously up his nose. He was about to reach for Wufei's, but was stopped short by a slap on the wrist.

"Did it ever occur to you to act your age?" Wufei scolded.

Blowing gently on his hand, Duo stood up. He took the straw out of his nose and flicked it into the garbage. "Ever occur to you that I'm the only one who does?" After Wufei failed to answer Duo saluted him with two fingers and quirky smile and left the room, humming some sort of oldies show tune.

Trowa had gone straight to his room, which was right next to Quatre's, and had been sitting on his bed listening to Quatre cry, mentally apologizing to both him and Catherine. He knew Duo was right, but he had built a life with that circus. Sure, it wasn't too exiting and he always seemed to be wanting something more, but it was his. Now he had to start over _again_, and, as soon as Quatre could get a grip, he promised himself he would.

That night, after Quatre had fallen asleep from exhaustion, Trowa snuck into his room and made certain he was alright. Were the covers warm enough? Was he going to need a glass of water if he got thirsty? Might as well.

Once in the kitchen, Trowa had a hard time finding the cups. Luckily, Duo just happened to be looking for a midnight snack.

"What's up?" he asked as he padded bare food toward the fridge.

"Cups?"

"Umm... cabinet to your right, I think." Duo's voice came from inside the fridge. Leave it to Duo to already have memorized the layout of the kitchen. Grateful, Trowa gabbed a cup and filled it up at the sink. He passed by Duo on his way out. "How's Quat?"

Trowa shrugged, but his face looked pained.

"Listen, I'm sorry if--"

"He's upset." Trowa cut in. "But he'll be ok. He has a lot more to leave behind than you or me." Duo looked both ecstatic and surprised at Trowa's sudden behavioral change. "He's sleeping now. I should get back."

Duo shook off the abrupt oddity. "Y-yeah... See ya." He opened the coke he'd grabbed and took a sip as Trowa silently vanished into the dark hallway. "He always did need you."

_April 15th..._

The day passed slowly. Trowa stayed in Quatre's room for most of it, while Heero, Duo and Wufei set about helping with whatever the Doctors needed them to do; rearranging storage rooms, bringing in shipments, etc...

The Doctors, though they had virtually escaped the map, imported precious metals and reformed salvaged junk. They were anonymous informers on various political subjects and were in the process of creating a few new trinkets. In fact Professor G, who Duo had been looking forward to seeing again, was currently away on 'business.'

"For a bunch of old, dead guys they sure do a lot." Duo mumbled as he set a box filled with beakers own inside a store room.

Wufei rolled in a large wooden crate on a dolly. "Stop complaining and help me with this," he ordered. Duo rolled his eyes and helped heave the crate onto a stack of crates just like it. When Heero brought another one in shortly after Wufei left, Duo helped him too, groaning something about demanding Asians.

Things went on like that for hours and Duo began to wonder just how much different this was than being a Sweeper. Of course, he had Wufei and Heero to talk to if he wanted to cut down on the monotony... or maybe not.

After the contents room 5D had been transferred to room 2A, the ex-pilots were given separate tasks. Heero was to go through the computer system and update all the files, Wufei was going to help bring in a load of raw chemicals and Duo got to clean up a laboratory on Level Two.

Once down in Lab7, Duo wondered just what the doctors had done to turn an entire crate of brand new rubber gloves into pudding. Fortunately, choosing to hum the I Dream of Genie theme song made the chore fly by. When nearly all the remains of the crate and gloves had been scraped off the floor, Duo set to cleaning up a thin, splotchy trail of black, melted rubber. After following it, drip by drip through a maze of boxes and experiments that had been pushed by the wayside, Duo hit the end. It was hiding in the shadows of a corner like a seven foot tall rectangular predator covered in a black cloth.

Pausing, Duo decided to follow the trail under the canvas and into the unknown, grinning from ear to ear. It was pitch black inside, and sort of small. It smelled like burnt rubber, too. Grimacing, he came out and looked it over again. Duo took a deep breath and grabbed the cover. He yanked it down and stood back.

"Whoa..."

Glass panels held together by a metal frame, a computer built into the side, wires of ever color sprawling out on the floor around it... indeed this looked like something Duo was going to love. He immediately walked around it, inspecting the machine from every angle possible. It was magnificent, even though the blob of black goo in the center was a bit creepy. Duo was about to satisfy his curiosity by sitting down in front of the computer and poking around when Wufei's voice so rudely interrupted him.

"Maxwell? Are you in there?"

"Yeah!" Duo turned his back to the machine and shouted, irritated that his discovery had to wait.

Wufei was standing at the door. He could hear Duo's voice somewhere behind a sea of unused things. He guessed that the prankster was goofing off again and rolled his eyes. "Dinner, lets go!" But the reply he expected didn't come. Instead, there were footsteps getting louder and louder. Before Wufei knew what hit him, Duo had already run out of the room screaming 'food!' at the top of his lungs.

Wufei shook his head and turned the light in laboratory off. He slid the door shut and locked it, then followed the trail of echoes Duo had left behind. When he reached the kitchen Duo was waiting for him, starry eyed with a piece of pepperoni pizza in his hands.

"It was you, wasn't it Wu-man?"

Wufei could feel the hug coming and began to back out of the room.

"We tried to tell him it was coincidence, but he didn't believe us." One of the Doctors regular employees explained from the other side of the kitchen. "Really, we tried."

But it was too late. Duo had Wufei in a firm glomp and the two were tottering toward the ground.

"Duo, get off him," Heero ordered as he passed the pair and sat down at the table.

Duo frowned, but bounded obediently back over to his seat, leaving Wufei in a spluttering, cursing pile on the floor.

All throughout dinner Wufei grumbled. Though he quit cursing about five minutes in, Duo knew the glares would be eternal this time. Trowa showed up too, but only long enough to collect a few slices of the pizza and leave again. Duo tried many times to strike up conversation with Heero. He failed. Shrugging off said failure, the ex-pilot took to the group of young men who were also breaking for lunch. By the end of the meal Wufei could have sworn on life itself that Duo's capacity for talking was inhuman and just when Heero thought his friends' lungs should be about to collapse, Instructor H came and summoned the boys in gray jumpsuits. With no one else to bother, Duo turned back to Heero and Wufei. Upon his movement, they went frigid.

"So, guys--" He stopped.

Why was it, on occasions such as this, that he always found himself alone?

Duo was about to stand up and go in search of his abandoners when he realized the stack of pizza boxes had been left for not as well. A grin formed on his face. He scooted closer to them and cleaned out the dirt from under one of his nails while trying to look superior. Looking at the pizza slowly, "so... I hear your cheap."

When Heero returned to the kitchen to get a glass of water before bed, he stopped dead in his tracks. Duo had created a castle of pizza boxes and was barricaded behind it. He could see the cobalt eyes watching him through a peep hole.

"Sate you business, intruder!" the boxes ordered in a British accent. Heero tried to ignore it as he filled up his glass, but was pelted in the side of the head by a pizza crust.

"Cut it out." He grumbled, tossing the crust into the trash can.

Another one came at him.

"Duo..." he warned.

This time an entire piece of cold, greasy anchovy pizza came flying towards his head. Snatching it out of the air, Heero threw it back. The impact of the pizza against the flimsy box walls shattered Duo's shelter. Trying to stifle a laugh, Heero moved to leave the room.

"Jerk!" Duo shouted at him from beneath the destroyed fortress.

Waiting until he was well down the corridor, Heero let himself break into a small bout of laughter. Doctor J had been right. It _was_ entertaining having Duo around.

Back in the kitchen Duo set about cleaning up his mess. The corridor lights had already been turned off when he finished. Sighing and making his way to his room, Duo passed the elevator to the lower levels. He froze. Lab7 was down there, with a large, curious thing waiting in one of its corners. Duo thought for a moment before continuing on his way.

"Quat..." he whispered into the blonds ear. "Quatre..." Duo insisted. "Quatre Raberba Winner!" He pushed the boy a little.

Quatre sat up in a flurry of covers and, in his frantic confusion, hit his head on the wall. Duo closed his eyes and hissed at the thought of the pain it had probably caused. When Quatre gained his wits and let his eyes adjust to the light, he looked at Duo surprised. "Duo? What is it? Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah, sure..." Duo kept his voice down. "The question is, are _you_?"

"Umm... I'm fine." Quatre looked around. He took notice that his friend was dressed completely in black. "What are you doing in here?"

Duo stood up and put his hands on his hips. "I'm your Guardian Angel of Death, here to get you out of your rut." he said proudly, then grabbed the Arab's hand. "Now come on, I've got something to show you.'

"D-Duo!" Quatre stuttered as the brunette drug him out of bed. "What are you doing?!"

"I told you already. Now, put on something dark and come with me."

A few minutes Trowa peered out from his room. A loud bang had woken him up. His eyes detected movement after quickly scanning the hallway. It was Quatre and Duo, stalking silently into the darkness. Curious, Trowa stepped out and shut his door as quietly as possible. He made his way across the hall and knocked on one of the room doors. Moments later Wufei answered it.

"Trowa?" The sleep immediately retreated from his eyes.

Trowa put a finger to his lips and motioned to the right with his head. Nodding, Wufei left his room and followed Trowa, following Quatre, following Duo down to Level Two.

Heero was sitting in one of the computer rooms reviewing files when he caught a glimpse of Duo walking by. Bemused, he focused into the darkness. Quatre walked by. Now quite intrigued, Heero stepped silently to the room door and looked out. A while later Trowa and Wufei passed. Wufei paused to shrug when he and Heero locked eyes, then motioned with one hand for the stoic young man to follow. He did.

It seemed like Duo was leading them on a wild goose chase until Wufei recognized the room number they'd entered. But it was darker inside than it was in the corridors, and he had lost sight of Quatre and Duo. "Where are they?" He whispered.

Pointing to a faint light way at the back of the room, Heero began to lead the way. The trek seemed to take forever. Weaving in and out of stacks of boxes and palates and crates nearly made Wufei swear he never wanted to see one again.

"What does it do?" Quatre's voice rang clear in the blackness. Heero, Trowa and Wufei came out from behind the boxes to catch the tail end of Duo shrugging.

"What the hell..." Wufei breathed at the sight. The glass tower surrounded in wires and cords was lit eerily by three small, green glow sticks Duo had undoubtedly brought with him.

"Oh! What are you guys doing here?" Quatre asked when he turned around to find the three other ex-pilots ogling at the machine.

"We followed _you_, what else?" Heero said, still captivated by the glass experiment. How had something so tall and... and _weird_ managed to elude him for so long?

"What is it?" Wufei asked.

"Dunno, but some wires were loose. Quat was helping me fix it up."

"Stupid! It could be dangerous!"

The braided pilot laughed and shoved a thumb in the direction of the glass cage. "I don't think so. _They _seem to be fine." Wufei followed the finger and saw not only Quatre, but Trowa and Heero inside it looking around. "Loosen up a little! Go on, check it out!"

Wufei submitted to going inside, but he did so slowly and suspiciously.

Duo smiled. It had been a long time since he'd gotten to see all of the Gundam pilots in the same room. He applauded himself and went back to checking the wires. Finding one that was frayed, he took the time to mend it. He was good with mechanics, like all the others, but this sort of thing was his favorite.

He looked over the multicolored wires one more time before using the control pad to help him stand up.

"Beep!"

"Beep?" Duo echoed. He looked at where his hand had been. There was a button there, and it said something. He couldn't tell, so he picked up one of the glow sticks. "Initiate?" He paused. Eyes widening, they flicked quickly to the screen. There was a red loading bar with the same title. The bar was about a quarter of an inch from finishing. "Oh no..."

Duo jumped away from the computer and banged a hand on the glass panels to get the other's attention. Heero looked up, narrowing his eyes angrily at the unwanted surprise and Quatre stumbled into Trowa from the shock. Swinging himself into the little square room Duo shouted. "Why are you standing there?! Get out! Get out of it n--!"

A flash came up from the floor bright enough to blind an airliner pilot on Earth. Stunned, Duo shielded his eyes and tripped backwards. Heero shut his as quickly as he could and bumped into Wufei, who shouted in surprise. Trowa swung Quatre against his chest to protect him and buried his face in the mass of silky blond hair. The last thing any of them remembered was a searing physical pain burning though their veins and a buzzing in their heads.


	4. Chp4 A Tingling in Your Toes

_April 16th..._

A man in a green jump suit looked over a stack of crates at the back of the room. They were scheduled to be sent to Earth this morning, but it looked as if something had gotten into one of them. There were little black smudges all over the lowest wooden rung in the crate's frame. Touching it, he found that it was rubber.

"Hey boss," a young man called through the maze of supplies in the room. "The shuttle's here!"

Sighing and standing up, the 'boss' pushed the little rubber smears out of his mind. "Ok," he said to the waiting forklift. "Let's load these up!"

His orders were followed by the incessant beeping of the machinery. The lift carried the crate out of the room and into a shuttle at the loading bay. It repeated the process with seven other crates until the shuttle's cargo bay was comfortably full. He checked over the shipment list one more time before waving the pilot off in good spirits.

Nodding to his shipping coordinator, the pilot started the shuttle and left the bay. As X18999 began to look smaller behind him, he set the engines on high. The cargo was on high demand on Earth. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could come back for more.

_Skyline Shipping Co. Cargo Hold..._

Heero woke up to the sounds of hissing and spitting and arguing. "It's not my fault!" Duo seemed to be defending himself. "I had no idea this would happen!"

"But it did!" Quatre was in hysterics. "Now look at us!" Heero shut his eyes and tried to ignore them. His head hurt and it felt like he had cotton in his mouth. "I mean, did you think this would _help me_? Is _this_ what you had in mind?!" Quatre continued.

"Oh yeah, cause I totally planned all this! I _so_ wanted to be a _cat_ for the rest of my life!

Cat? What the hell are they talking about? Heero sat up. He turned to face the noise. As he did, it seemed like a vacuum of space opened up around him. It was completely quiet while he took in the scene. There was a dark tabby sitting on a black kitten, who was hissing like a maniac, and a longhaired brindle colored one sitting next to an almost white one. All four of them were staring wide eyed at him.

The brindle kitten, without taking his eyes off of the Japanese soldier, whispered, "what are the chances he'll just fall back asleep?"

The carmello kitten gulped and whispered back, "if he lunges, you die first..."

"Gee thanks..."

Why do these animals sound like Duo and Quatre? And how did they get in the lab? Wait. Heero looked around. They weren't in the lab, they were in a crate. Why am I in a crate? He looked back at the tabby restraining the black, then to the arguing kittens again. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "...Duo..?" There was very little question in his voice.

Shying backwards, the brindle kitten mumbled weakly, "uh... yes?"

"Are we... cats?"

"Uh... Well you could put it that way... I mean, _technically_, we're kittens..."

"How." Heero demanded, trying to keep from looking at himself.

"The machine... I think..." Duo was now hiding behind the blond kitten that was obviously Quatre. "It chemically altered out genetics... or something. But hey, at least we're cute!" The attempt at humor fell flat on its face.

Narrowing his eyes, Heero stalked up to Duo, who was franticly looking for an escape. Quatre however, was sitting heavily on his tail. Raising a small clawed paw, Heero smacked the brindle kitten as hard as he could. Squealing in kitty-like anguish, Duo curled up in a ball and held his bleeding nose.

"Damn..." Heero huffed. Catching Quatre's frightened but curious eyes, he mumbled, "if it was a dream he'd have died."

Quatre immediately backed away, wide eyed and more than a little nervous.

"Where are we?" Heero turned to the tabby kitten who was still sitting on the semi-calmer black one.

Trowa cautiously got off of Wufei, but still kept one paw firmly on his back. "On a cargo ship. It's destination is unknown."

Heero sat and wrapped a very dark brown tail around his feet, glaring at the light filtering in from the outside of the crate. "How long?"

"We don't know that either." Duo spoke up almost angrily as he unfurled from his safe ball. "But the cargo's packed for a long convoy period, and the crew's food supply is more than three fourths depleted. It wont be long before we dock."

Glancing sidelong at the brindle, the dark brown kitten twitched his tail in irritation. "Set up watch." He said slowly. "We don't want to be found, it could be dangerous."

Wufei had finally struggled out of Trowa's grip. "Yuy! We need to get _out _of here! We cant just sit around!"

"And we cant _do_ anything until we reach the ship's destination," Heero nearly shouted. He lowered his voice to a growl. "So sit tight and shut up. I'll take first shift." Wufei pinned his ears and hissed, but did as he was told. He stalked to a corner and stuffed his nose in it. Behind him, Heero walked to the edge of the crate and looked out. Trowa rejoined Quatre and tried to keep him from whispering death wishes at Duo, who returned to his ball to nurse his wound.

Hours went by. The lights in the cargo bay flickered every now and again. Once a crew member came to check the air lock. Heero made mental notes of where everything was located. He was staring intently at the type of hatch command system the ship had when he felt someone behind him. He turned his head. It was Duo, the beginnings of tiny pink scars defying his dark coat.

"I'll take over," he said quietly. The others had finally gone back to sleep and he didn't want to chance waking them up.

"Hnn," Heero nodded. He made one more visual sweep and went to the back of the crate, where it was darkest.

Duo squared his shoulders and sat down as straight as he could. The light was dim, but he could still see so many details in the ships hold. He wasn't used to the intense vision and had to blink. It seemed like forever had passed before he let himself start thinking. His gaze fell. It was _his_ fault they were in this mess, his idea to mess with that _thing_. Quatre was mad at him and Heero hated him. Wufei was waiting to jump him and Trowa... well Trowa seemed right at home.

A loud sigh made Duo jump out if his skin. He whirled around and came nose to nose with Trowa.

Shying backwards a little, Duo grinned sheepishly before sitting down. "Uh... Hey." Taking a seat leisurely next to him, Trowa scanned the surroundings slowly. Then he looked at Duo and sort of smiled gently. He turned back to standing guard.

It was silent for a long time. Duo eventually settled down. He sighed. "I messed up pretty bad, hu?" Trowa didn't respond. "I always heard that when you find something your good at it should be easy, but the only things that's ever come easy to me is killing people.. Even living is hard. I cant seem to lead a normal life... be a normal person... I keep messing up." Duo, who had begun talking to himself, dropped his voice to a whisper. "It shouldn't be this hard..."

"Its not easy for us either." Trowa said after a long, tense pause. Duo chanced looking at him from the corner of his eye. "We were great soldiers, but that's because we had a cause. We're all struggling to find a new one."

Smiling, Duo kitty rolled his shoulders. "You know, I think this is the most you've said to me since we _met_. Are you feelin' ok there, buddy?"

"Sometimes it takes a while to find things worth saying."

Duo raised his eyebrow as best he could and looked behind him at a little white ball in the darkness. "Sometimes it takes a while to find someone worth changing for, is that what you mean?"

Trowa grinned. He turned and left Duo back to his own imaginings, joining a little whitish ball in the dark recesses of the crate.

Duo ended up keeping watch until his eyes tried to escape his head and run for cover. He'd finally slumped down on his own overly fluffy tail when the cargo hold began to rumble. The noise grew louder and louder. Duo dug his claws into the crate's floor when the ship started to list violently from side to side. In seconds, all five of the newly-cats were in a line, looking out of the crate panels for some clue as to what was going on.

"What's going on?!" Wufei shouted, hackles spiked.

Quatre braced himself against Trowa's chest. "Maybe we're entering an atmosphere."

"Like this?" Duo shouted over the rumbling. "We're all going to _die_!" his sentence turned into a yowl as the ship heaved violently.

Suddenly, there was just the sound of an engine winding. Heero slowly rose from his position flattened on the floor and listened. Nobody spoke. They were still getting their bearings when a humming sound filled the hold and natural light pored in. Craning their necks out of the crate, the kittens were nearly blinded.

The cargo hatch door was opening and it was brilliant, white daylight outside. Receding into the crate, the kittens packed closely together. Whatever port they were at was flooding the bay with too much light. There weren't any shadows left to hide in.

"What do we do?" Quatre whispered.

"Stay put." Duo replied. "ts our one way ticket out."

Soon a forklift came in on the ramp and began taking packages away two or three at a time. It wasn't long before the spikes of the lift were steadily piercing the gundam boys hideaway. When Wufei was nearly skewered they unanimously decided that the bottom of a crate full of scrap metal was probably the least safe place to be.

Duo and Heero watched wide-eyed. The forklift was taking them down the ramp, along a short dirt road strewn with inconvenient potholes and setting them on top of the first few crates already extracted. From inside, they could see that it was a private docking bay. They also noticed that they were in a junk yard. Old cars stacked on one side of them, imported materials on the other. There was a man below them taking inventory and a few others securing their newest arrivals. It took hours for the commotion outside to die down, but when it did Duo was the first to climb out of the crate. Heero was next, making a clean sweep of their perimeter.

Stealing along the top of the crate next to his, Duo was careful to check for human life. When it was all clear, he sat in the very center, careful of splinters, and looked up.

The sky was a liquid blue strewn with white wisps. The sun had died down a little and was already changing the color of the horizon. Duo grinned. He knew where they were. It was the only place he could watch a sunset like this.

"Hey guys!" He called to the others, who were already filing out of the crate. "We're on Earth!"

_Yo yo yo! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up... its not even all that good. I cant blame it on writers block or lack of time, its just that I'm just so damn lazy.  
Heads up:  
There's gonna be an original character joining the cast in the next few chapters or so.  
Be sure to let me know which think. Oh yeah!  
I'll be startin up my first story at FictionPress pretty soon here, so check it out! Please? My user name is Mylo Jareth._


	5. Chp5 Listen to the Chinese

_A Junkyard on Earth..._

It was dusk, or near dusk. The Gundam Once-Were-Human Boys sat exasperated outside of the crate they were coming to not-so-fondly call home. It had been decided, early their second day on Earth, that the junkyard was not a fitting place to stay. Nor was it safe... or dry for that matter. Just a day and a half ago it had rained, soaking the kittens to the bone. Leaving was not only satisfactory, but quite essential to both the kitten's health and comfort.

Heero had suggested the move, and it was unanimous, or at least, it _had_ been. On the morning of the third day, as soon as poor Wufie had stepped out of the crate and readied himself to pounce down a scanty staircase made of other boxes, a dog had appeared. And not just any dog, the biggest, most ugly dog any of them had ever seen. Maybe it was that they were seeing it from a cat's eyes, but the black and brown thing below them was hideous. So hideous, in fact, that Wufie turned right around and curled up in a corner of the crate. He'd been in there for nearly three days.

"Oh come on!" Duo huffed and slumped to his belly. "We haven't even _seen_ that stupid old dog since god knows when!"

Trowa and Heero sat back in quiet annoyance as they watched Quatre and Duo try, for the billionth time, to coax Wufie outside.  
Quatre nodded. "And besides, the sooner we leave the sooner we can find a spaceport and get back to X18999," the slightest bit of anger tweaking his words.

Duo grumbled, "not to mention none of us have caught anything to eat in days..." His stomach agreed... _loudly_. The brindle kitten had never imagined mice to be so cunning until he tried to catch one. Heero had been successful in finding a small roach, and Trowa shared the victory of catching a moth with Quatre, but no one had had actual food in six days. All the kittens were short on nerve.

"Just leave me alone!" Wufie griped from inside the crate, safe and sound. "There's no way in hell I'm going down there._ I_ don't have a death wish!"

Heero got the distinct feeling that Wufie was glaring in his direction and growled. He looked at Trowa, who had the slightest hint of a smile on his face, and stalked forward, now _more_ than exasperated by the black kittens' behavior. Quatre and Duo scuttled backwards as Heero vanished into the darkness of the crate. A few moments later there was a series of hissing, cursing, spitting and scratching noises. Just as Duo was about to peek in to see what had happened, Heero emerged pulling a defeated Wufie out by his tail.

"Go. Now," Heero ordered through the tail fluff.

Overcome with the joys of victory, Dou wasted no time leaping to the comfort and familiarity of a dirt floor. He was followed by Trowa, who was taking his time to tell Quatre where the splinters were, then Heero and Wufie, who'd conceded to walking on his own. By the time they had all reached the junkyard's floor, Duo was marching down the isle, ears tipped tall and head held high.

Days ago, from the top of the crates, they had mapped out exit route, but it was hidden by the stacks of dismissed items from the ground level. Duo was quite pleased with himself that he'd remembered the way to freedom. A regroup, two right turns, and a left turn later, the kittens saw the street.

They walked down the straight path, glad to finally be getting away from their crate castle. The ground was cool and damp and earthy. Duo was in heaven and Quatre was doing everything he could to stop himself from dancing around like a maniac. Looking to the others from over his shoulder, Duo could have sworn that Heero had squared his shoulders and Trowa seemed a bit taller. The fly in the mix was still Wufie, who was skittering around like a bug on fire, checking shadows and old prints for any sign of the monster-dog.

Rolling his eyes, Duo slipped his scrawny self through a chain-link fence and rested his paws on the sidewalk beyond it. Ah, freedom. Shortly after, Heero climbed through. His eyes were weary for people, but there was an unmistakable look of pleasure in them. When all the boys had lined up on the walkway, they looked back at their progress.

Expecting to see a wide dirt road littered with bits and fragments of debris, they were shocked, to say the least, when what they saw was anything but. Just on the other side of the chain-link, spit and slobber dangling from its mouth, was the dog. "Hello, kitty, kitty." His mouth split into a wide grin as it passed through a hole in the fence that the kittens had overlooked due to their now ill-placed joy.

Wufie had wasted no time bolting to the other side of the sidewalk, hackles raised and followed by Quatre. Heero and Trowa backed away slowly, but Duo was frozen in his fur. He just stared up at the face, deaf to the incessant whispers of his comrades. It was only the passing of a car, which honked at the kittens, that shook Duo out of his stupor. He flattened his ears and backed away, heart fluttering in his narrow chest. His eyes darted up and down the sidewalk looking for any sign of a human savior. Alas, not a sidewalk bound sole insight. Even the cars on the street were less because of the darkening hour.

Whimpering, Duo was nose to nose with the beast. "A-any chance you're a _nice_ doggy?"

"Not a one."

Duo was certain that, even as a cat, his face must look sheepish. "Oh."

The dog's lips split open again, revealing so many sharp, white teeth Duo found himself unable to look away. Suddenly, the dog staggered backward with a deafening howl, shaking his had violently.

"Run, baka!" Heero shouted from his position between the monsters ears.

Duo scrambled with his four legs as he tried to bolt down the sidewalk. The others were already ahead of him some way, waiting with jittery feet. Gaining control, he took off like a rocket, only stopping when Heero came flying over his head and met the concrete with a smack. There was blood on his claws and more than just a few tiffs in his chocolate brown fur.

"You ok?" Duo huffed as he helped the kitten stagger to his feet. Even for a perfect soldier, a blow like that had hurt.

Heero squinted his eyes in pain, but nodded as he hurried off, Duo quick on his haunches. They could feel the ground shaking behind them as the dog gave chase. Heero's little stunt, though brave and quite effective, had put him in a bad mood. Now he was angry _and_ hungry. Perfect.

The cracks in the walk and the brick buildings around them faded to nothing more than colored blurs. Somewhere behind them Duo could have sworn he heard shouting. As the kittens rounded a corner in hopes of finding a way to dodge out of sight, they came tumbling into a silver trashcan lined wall.

Wufie slammed into the cans, moving one just enough to create a space between it and the wall. He backed into it, hissing for Trowa and Quat to do the same. Breathing to hard to speak, they kittens crowded in with each other, praying that the shadows in the alley would save them. The dog rounded the corner. He looked confused until he caught sight of Quatre's whitish figure cowering behind the mass of other kittens.

Duo and Heero watched as the cruel grin returned to his face. He stalked toward them, purposefully slow. The kittens crammed tighter together and Duo covered Heero as best he could, aware that, if it hadn't been for him, they probably wouldn't have even made it this far.

"Thought you'd get away, did you?" His growl was low and guttural.

Duo slammed his eyes shut. He felt Heero's interrupted, pained breathing and the shaking of the others fear as if it were magnified one hundred times over. He heard the howling of the air as it passed in and out of the dogs throat. But he also heard something else, something he couldn't quite understand. Suddenly, where his world had become the shadow of his attacker, there was light.

He looked up, slowly, carefully.

The monster-dog was being pulled way, screamed at. A human had latched itself into the dog's collar, wrenching the beast away from the corner. The dog's face was one of surprise, then, as the human booted it in the ribs and shouted, "Go home, Bruno!" one of defeat.

The person took the extra time to chase him out of the alley, Duo swearing that the dog had said something before vanishing around the corner. Attention now focused on the human, who was slowly approaching them, Duo softened his grip over Heero's back. It was a she, cooing and talking so quietly she was barely audible.

When she was right over them, settling down on her knees, Wufie hissed. He squished himself into the space he had left, still afraid and very upset. This action was mimicked by Quatre. But Trowa, who had to have seen what Duo had seen, didn't move.

The girl cooed again. "It's ok, I wont hurt you." She reached down and stroked a line from Duo's head to his tail. He cringed. "Oh no, no..." She whispered. "Shhh..."

Reaching over him, the girl wrapped gentle fingers around Heero. She scooped him up, despite a weak protest, and cradled him. Carefully, she probed his injuries and made him open his eyes. After a few minutes, she seamed satisfied.

Pulling a canvas bag off of her shoulder, she set him inside. Then she reached for Duo and set him inside as well. Moments later Trowa curled up in the bag, Quatre quickly beside him. The boys heard all manner of hissing, but Wufie joined them anyway, now simply a confused, frightened, black kitten who, like his litter mates, was all too skinny.

The woman reached into the bag and pet every single one of them with the tips of her fingers and calming words as Duo looked around. Wufie and finally shut his mouth and was resting against a side of the bag. Quatre was still wide eyed, but calmer and Trowa was already half asleep. Looking to his left, curled up in what seemed like the collar of a folded polo shirt, Heero labored to breath, eyes shut tight. He curled up next to him. The top of the bag closed and Duo found comfort in the soft darkness. Eyes half closed, he knew not a single on of his friends felt the girl stand up and walk off, carrying them gently against her hip.

_What do you guys think? I mean, those of you who's stayed around, that is.. This is my favorite chapter so far, so let me know how it goes over!_


	6. Chp6 I am Lord Maxwell

  
_First off, I need to apologize for misspelling Wufei's name through the entirety of the 5th chapter. But since I really am just a lazy-ass and have no intention of editing the page again, I'd like to apologize for not editing it properly the first time around. I also would like to thank all of my readers for being so loyal this far. Please enjoy._

_Blue Tree Housing, building D, second floor, apartment 309..._

Wufei opened his eyes to a warm, dim light. Blinking a few times, he realized his environment had changed drastically from the time he;d fallen asleep. Bolting upright, ears sharp and hackles raised, his gold flecked eyes surveyed the new world.

In a corner, near a bed. He could see the top of a window, blinds drawn but open. The bedside table had a book and a cup on it that, from the smell, had recently been filled with tea and honey. Then he saw the door. It was cracked open and the light on the other side was far brighter than it was inside the bedroom.

Carefully, ever so cautiously, Wufei took a step toward it.

Unfortunately, the once graceful fighter was suddenly reduced to a stumbling mess. His claws had caught on the many blankets that filled his wicker basket and, as he tried to walk, tugged and pulled at his toes, wrenching his unexpecting body every which way he didn't want to go. Wufei finally made it out of the horrible basket when he rolled over the edge and flopped onto the carpeted floor, still attached to one of the blankets.

He franticly shook his back leg until he was free, after, of course, hissing in frustration a few times. He quickly regained what shreds of dignity he had left and glanced around to room to see if anyone had been watching him.

Blowing a bit of fuzz from his nose, he made his way to the door and looked out. There was a marble-like island that separated the kitchen from a room with a T.V and a couch. The patio doors behind the couch were closed but Wufei could see the leaves of some very large plants outside. There were plants inside too, near the couch and beside the T.V, in the center of a very small table that was next to the kitchen and, down the hall, Wufei noted a small lucky bamboo in the bathroom. The colors were muted browns and greens, a few tans accenting the place and little ivory colored statues decorating the coffee table and window sill, who's blinds were wide open. All in all, it was a very serine looking apartment.

Then again, the small brindle kitten perched on the edge of the kitchen table wearing an all too malicious look and the whitish one walking unknowingly beneath him did set things a little off balance. This picture, as Wufei turned his head to locate Trowa and Heero, was followed by something that sounded vaguely like "kowabunga" and a surprised yowl.

Trowa, who was nestled in one of the corners of the couch, perked his ears nonchalantly.

Duo stalked to the edge of the chair. He peered over, his prey still unsuspecting. Grinning wickedly, he hopped up to the tabletop and quickly scuttled to the protection of the leafy plant at its center. Looking through the glass at the blurred, cream colored blob below, Duo tracked it step for step to the edge of the table. He curled his toes around the tempered glass, careful not to use his claws, and waited for the opportune moment.

One second... two seconds... three sec--

Shouting, Duo launched off the table and cackled madly as he fell. Fur flying back, mouth wide open, paws spread and greedy, he struck Quatre full on.

With a startled cry, the blond kitten collapsed under the impact.

Duo jumped to his feet and strutted away, sure that, if Quatre had been a mouse, he would have had quite the meal. His eyes, glittering blue-ish, fell on Wufei and he bounded over.

Wufei sucked in a deep, sharp breath as Duo approached and braced himself. But Duo simply slid to a stop on the short carpet and cocked his head merrily to the side. "Mornin', Wu-man! How'd ya sleep?"

"Uh..." He stumbled for a response before realizing that his sleeping life was no business of Duo's. That, and he didn't actually know how he'd slept because, well, he'd been asleep. Deciding that Duo's question was both personally invading and irrational, he settled instead for, "where are we?"

Taking a moment to scratch behind his ear, Duo explained that they were currently living in "Leena's apartment." "Leena," of course, was the young woman who'd rescued then from the slobbering, growling brute of a dog. They had been there since last night. Duo, seeing a look of both relief and puzzlement wash over Wufei's features, decided it was probably kosher to inform him that Heero was in a veterinary office, but would be returning to them that night, or so Leena had said when she'd come home late last night without him.

Afterwards, Duo saw fit to show Wufei around, babbling about the disgusting, dry, chalky food she'd set out for them as he went.

Trowa, now joined on his couch cushion by a slightly frazzled Quatre, smiled. "That's the third time today." He noted as the blond kitten settled in.

"Yes, it is." Quatre replied rather crisply.

Hearing the annoyance in his voice, Trowa took a deep breath and tried to think of a way to explain things to Quatre. From his position on the couch he'd been able to clearly survey almost all of the apartment. He also had been able to watch the other kittens. Though Wufei had just recently woken up, Duo had been at it since just after dawn. He'd finished his exploring, rooting through the trashcan and dragging the towels in the bathroom around, which Trowa had earlier feared might become fashion accessory. The once-braided pilot seemed more at home here than even _he_ did, comfortably resting on the couch. "I think..." Trowa paused again. "I think Duo might finally feels at home."

Quatre glanced at Trowa, then at Duo, who was currently climbing into the cabinets in the kitchen. Wufei had settled for a quiet seat in front of the patio doors, watching the plants. "What do you mean?"

"Do you remember what Duo said at the hotel? That we don't belong?" Quatre nodded. "I think he meant that _he_ didn't belong. Maybe it took being a cat to change that."

The two sat in silence, contemplating his situation and theirs. Was this really what they needed? Not just the fresh start, but the fresh bodies? Quatre had to admit, it wasn't _so_ bad being a cat. He stretched out against Trowa's body and rested his head on his feet. He purred as Trowa's warm, rough tongue licked a few still frazzled tufts of fur back into place. Definitely not so bad.

_Helping Paws Veterinary Clinic, Kennel 7..._

Heero breathed deeply. Air filled his lungs like candy in a bag; the first real breath he'd dared to take since he realized he'd bruised his ribs after Bruno so rudely tossed him down the sidewalk. Besides a few tiny lacerations, that was the only damage he'd sustained. The woman who was responsible for his still beating heart had brought him immediately to the clinic and admitted him. She'd sat out in the waiting room for hours until they told her they would have to keep him overnight to make sure there wasn't any unexpected bleeding.

Now, taking a pain killer ever three hours, Heero was being released. The face of his rescuer looked into his cell, kind, soft eyes smiling brighter than a neon light. He momentarily found himself in awe, lost in a sea-green gaze that made his gut tingle.

"Hey, little guy!" She cooed as the vet opened his cage door. She reached in and scooped him up, being more than careful not to stick a finger in his cuts. "Feeling better?"

Shifting in her hands and blinking in the new light, Heero mumbled a "yes.' He had known, somewhere inside, that he could no longer speak human. However, it still came to him as a shock when he heard himself mew. Aroused with new frustration at his inability to communicate, he wondered how he would inquire as to the location of the other pilots.

The human, oddly perceptive, laid a gentle hand on his body. "Your buddies sure are gonna be happy to see you! They're at home. I thought they'd cause too much trouble if I brought them along." They left the room, escorted by the receptionist, and the woman signed a few papers. "I'm Leena, by the way." She said to him as she put the pen down and headed for the double glass doors.

"Uh, miss?" The woman behind the counter called.

Leena turned slowly, so as not to re-injure Heero, and looked at the receptionist expectantly.

"You didn't give us a name to file him under. Would you prefer we enter it as you last name?"

For a moment, Heero thought he saw apprehension cross Leena's face. "Um, no." The thought vanished. She looked down at him, then back to the woman. "Put him down as Hero."

Taken aback by the coincidence, Heero almost tried to voice his surprise. He stopped when the first syllable came out as a squeak. Infuriating. Resigning to sit in a shallow, heavily bedded tray in the front seat of Leena's jeep on the ride "home," he only half listened to her chatter.

Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have thought twice about leaving this girl in the dust. But, as the most recent events in his life had reminded him, he was no more than a kitten. A kitten who, despite best efforts, couldn't save his friends. A kitten who, cowering in a corner, had relied on Duo's physical protection. A kitten who, as pride-shattering as it was to admit, owed his life to the gangly girl seated next to him. A woman who couldn't have possibly had any training in martial arts or gunmanship. By the look of her soft featured face he doubted she even carried mace in her purse. That, as unfair as an assumption as it was, had been entirely correct because Leena, in fact, didn't carry a purse at all.

Letting out a huff focused around hurt pride, Heero was also reminded by a dull throb that he needed the medication Leena possessed. He concluded to stay with her just long enough to allow her the pleasure of seeing him healthy before going returning to his earlier mind track. Running away would have been the stupidest move he could have made. Stupider, even, that suggesting the boys try to find a spaceport. In fact, and this was the real ego leveler, if he hadn't mentioned it he and the others would be high up in the protection of an endless lot of crates and trash. None of this dog business would have ever happened.

As Leena stopped talking Heero paused to hate himself a little. In the silence the heater in the car hummed and there was the distinct sound of puddles being thwarted by tires in the streets outside.

He drifted into a rocking sleep and Heero found something new to think about, if only for seconds. He was headed to a clean, civilized house with an abundance of food and pain killers. No doubt there would be more warm blankets and crisp water. Plenty of places to lounge around, maybe even a bit of exploring to do. A smile quirked his lips as he let himself fall into the idea of a few all-too-catlike pleasures.

_Apartment 309..._

The low hum of an engine died outside the window. Dou, though not the first to realize what it meant, was the first to voice it. "Leena's back!" he shouted, dancing to the back of the couch and stuffing his nose onto the windowsill that was a little too far away.

Trowa and Quatre, who'd curled up together on the couch, sat upright. Quatre looked visibly elated but Trowa was reserved. If Duo hadn't known him better he would have dismissed the passing excitement in his eyes as a trick of the light. Wufei wandered rather quickly out of the hallway. Smirking at his stiff-legged dignity walk, Duo replayed the image of the black cat licking the inside of the mug beside Leena's bed in his head. He'd been so immersed in it he hadn't realized Duo'd been watching and, no doubt, still thought his hungry curiosity was a secret.

Movement recaptured Duo's eyes as Leena walked up the steps to the apartment. In the wide, almost flat container she held, unmoving and under a blue flowered pillowcase, Duo assumed was Heero. Moments later his ears trained on the sounds of a key rasping against the teeth of the door lock. It opened slowly and she came through, tray resting on her hipbone.

Duo bounded from his precarious position to the feet of the young woman. He stared at the tray, then let out a loud, questioning meow. In truth, it wasn't actually a word that could be deciphered into human language, as Heero's efforts could have been. Duo had simply found earlier that it sounded much more clear than the noises it took to say "how's he doing?"

The message relayed perfectly. Leena laughed, shut the door behind her and set Heero's box on the floor at the foot of the couch. "He's fine. Little Hero here just has a few cuts and bruises is all."

Duo cocked his head in shock. Had she just called him by his _real_ name? How could she possibly have known _that_?! His baffled gaze turned immediately to Heero, who's head was emerging from its angle fluff haven.

Heero's eyes shifted to full awareness when he noted Duo staring at him. The traces of what Leena had said took form in his head and he knew what Duo's question was. Not really in the mood to explain, he tried to ignore the voice in the back of his head telling him he owed it to Duo. He hated owing people things... "It's a coincidence, moron," he grumbled before he came fully out from under the blankets and glanced quickly around the apartment.

As he took in the atmosphere and tried to banish a bit of his embarrassment by sitting up straight, Duo and the others advanced on him. Mumbling, "Glad to see you back, man," Duo nestled himself protectively next to the box. Quatre said something to the like and came down from the couch to greet Heero formally. Trowa accompanied him, but only offered a reassuring nod that told Heero the apartment was safe.

Wufei had been put off by the presence of the strange human and squished his little black self so closely to the couch that Duo was sure he'd be flat by the time he got to Heero. But, to Duo's comical disappointment, he wasn't. The Chinese slunk over to the tray and flicked his tail in welcome, dark eyes on the intruder. He balled up like a hunchback and glared at her as he backed under the couch a little ways.

Holding back a smile Heero settled down into his blankets again, already sore. Warm and clean... and friendly. This place was everything he wanted.

Leena stood back in astonishment as she watched the kittens interact. They seemed to understand their friend's pain and, even more so, not to arouse him. By the look of her apartment, dirt tracked into the carpet and kitchen well overturned, they had reserved this behavior especially for Hero.

She knew animals could talk a language all their own. She knew they could intercept even the smallest unspoken messages. But the sight of it all sent her into quiet wonderment. She tiptoed into the kitchen, set the trashcan back on it's feet and put all the cups back in the cupboard. Then, looking at the kittens one more time, made herself a sandwich and joined the cream kitten and the tabby on the couch. At her approach, the little black one skittered off behind the plant near her television. She chuckled, tracking the kitten's individual attitudes in her mind.

Daring to turn on the T.V, Leena watched a rerun of Cops, the shadow of the black cat still glaring angrily at her from beneath the plants leaves.

Night fell a while later. To her amusement Leena noted that they had reached sleep far before the sun went down. She carefully moved Hero's tray to her room and set it next to the wicker basket. The brindle kitten and followed and the tabby watched her with green-grey eyes, refusing to leave the blond. She guessed they were the closest in the litter, but instead of trying to decipher all the kitten's quirks, she went to bed.

Many hours and a couple pain pills later, Leena woke up to a dull morning. It was drizzling outside. She rolled over to check on Hero. He glanced up at her from his bedding, then closed his eyes again. Leena could have sworn there was an embarrassed defiance in his gaze and found herself wondering what he would really be like un-muted by the drugs. The inseparable pair had moved to their basket sometime in the night and the twitching of the tabby's tail was the only thing that told her they weren't dolls.

Shaking the thought from her head, she stretched and got up. The little brindle kitten, who made a perfect nest in the pillow next to hers, mewed as she left the room. Smiling, Leena put her finger to her lips in a "shhh..." motion and walked into the kitchen. She put coffee on and searched the fridge for something to eat. Not a minute later the brindle kitten and the blond kitten met her at the table. "Morning," she said, weaving through them so she could sit down.

A glance around the apartment said the dark tabby was checking on his friend and the black kitten had spent his night under the plant. He was also still watching her. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the kittens that had jumped onto the table. "Sleep well?" She asked, nonchalant.

The brindle kitten stretched and purred a reply. She laughed, "can you understand me?" But the animal was too interested in staring at her breakfast to shed any light on the bounds of her question. Instead, it looked from her face to the food, meowed, then did it again. "Uh... sure?" Leena pulled her hands off the table and sat back.

The brindles eyes brightened and it nearly lunged at a passing Cheerio. Gobbling it down, the cat began to lap at the milk. After what Leena interpreted as a look of reserve and disgust passed from the blonde kitten's face, it too began to eat from her bowl.

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Leena bent over and looked into the corner at the other end of the table. The water she'd set out for them was gone, but the cat food remained untouched except one half-chewed piece that strayed from the dish. She was brought out of the passing fancy that her new friends were just a little stranger than most cats by the crashing sound of her cereal box meeting the floor.

With a shout, she jumped away from the mess. Glancing to the table, only the blond kitten remained. A look of shame glinting in his big blue eyes. Leena shook her head out of the fog of shock and leaned down to clean up the mess. As she did, the brindle crawled out of the box. He shook his furry face just as she had done and blinked hard a few times.

"Hey!" She scolded him, understanding of the situation flooding over her.

The kitten looked up at her as if her face was just as surprising as falling off the table had been. He tried to bolt off, but the Cheerio-strewn floor made him stumble like Bambi on ice.

Leena found herself laughing again as she dropped to her knees. By this time all the kittens had gathered at the edge of the tile to watch the brindles antics. Except the black one, who'd conceded to slink as far as the couch."Troublemaker," she picked the little guy up and set him just out of range of the Cheerios. "You were the one who got into the plants yesterday, hu?" She wrestled a knuckle against his skull and picked up the box. Lucky for her it hadn't been all that full. She saved whatever hadn't touched the floor, then took it back to the cabinet. Back to the mess, she pulled a small broom out of the pantry. Shacking her head and still laughing a bit, she turned around, dust pan in hand.

"Oh my god!" She gasped and covered her mouth, dropping the broom.

At the edge of the cereal splatter the brindle kitten sat straight and tall, tail flicking and eyes glowing with untold jokes. At his feet, perfectly spelled with Cheerios in size forty-eight font were the words **MY NAME IS DUO**.


End file.
